Assessment serves a formative function when evidence about learning is interpreted and used to decide what to do next. Summative assessment summarizes achievement at a particular point. A quiz can support formative decisions if its results change the next explanation; the same quiz used only for a grade serves a more summative purpose. One assessment can serve both. Formative need not mean ungraded or low-stakes, nor summative standardized or high-stakes.

Connect evidence to a next step

Imagine students explain with a drawing or number line whether 3/4 or 5/8 is larger. Check whether they compare using the same whole, not only whether the answer is correct. If several compare denominators alone, revisit unit size with diagrams showing an equal whole. If most explain their reasoning, check transfer with different fractions or representations. This is an illustrative example, not an observed result.

State reporting and learning purposes clearly

An end-of-unit test can summarize achievement, while item-level errors may inform the next unit. A daily quiz that is recorded but changes no learner or teacher action has not completed a feedback loop merely by being frequent. Black and Wiliam’s review emphasizes classroom assessment used to improve learning; it does not establish that one format or this example will work identically everywhere.

Review question

What evidence was collected, and how did it change the next learning or teaching decision? If reporting is the purpose, who will use the result and for what decision?

Sources: National Academies: Knowing What Students Know, Ch. 6 · Black & Wiliam (1998), Assessment and Classroom Learning · NFER: Assessment in Schools